King Belgarion of Riva was tired. He was lying in bed beside his small wife Ce'Nedra unable to sleep. Restless, he felt a compulsion to walk and so got up and went out into the corridor.

If Brand were to catch him out in a nightshirt at this hour, he would not be happy but Garion didn't really care.

Something felt wrong, but he didn't know what. It was like the knowledge was just out of his reach.

He wasn't really paying much attention to where he was going, but just let his feet direct. Soon he was passing the throne room and instinctively turned in. The room was as it should be except for one small detail. Eriond was sitting on the throne.

"Ah, Garion," he said, keeping his voice muted.

"Eriond, what brings you to Riva?"

"I'm afraid we have a problem, Garion. I'm sorry to say that Zandramas defied all the odds and actually caused the battle to continue."

"What?!" Garion exclaimed, shocked, he had thought it was all over.

"I regret to say that she tried to avoid her fate by causing another star to take her place. This of course failed, but she did enough damage to cause that star to explode as well. Another accident. I'm afraid we're back to square one but with a new enemy."

"What do we have to do?" asked Garion, his voice resigned. He could not leave a world of darkness for his children to live in.

"You're to go back on the road. I will give you further instructions if you assemble everyone that you will need in this throne room. I have already sent a prophecy that I believe is being spoken in Riva itself, I suggest you get it written down. I will also take up residence in your mind again, so that I will know the moment you are ready."

The next thing he knew, Garion was waking up in his bed again. Immediately, he strode over to the balcony to contact Belgarath.

"Garion, what in the name of Aldur do you want at this hour?"

"Eriond visited me last night, grandfather."

"And what did he have to say?" Belgarath sounded cautious; as if he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"We're going back on the road again." Garion could sense his dissatisfaction. "You have to come to Riva, there is a new prophecy, and we're going to have to decipher it to find out exactly who we need. I suggest that we keep this on the low though. I don't really want Ce'Nedra finding out until the last minute possible."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. I'll be there tomorrow." And with that he terminated the connection.

Garion dressed quickly and went to find Brand to tell him that he wanted the words of all the lunatics in Riva recorded.

The next day, he had a pile of five lots of the ravings of people in Riva. One in particular had caught his eye as it happened to mention the ancient one. All he had to do now was wait for Belgarath to arrive.

Garion was sitting in the throne room listening to a particularly boring tolnedran envoy when a large hawk swept into the room and landed in front of the throne.

Knowing exactly who the hawk was, Garion quickly dismissed the man. As soon as he had left, grumbling and disgruntled, Belgarath resumed his human shape.

"Have you got this prophecy then?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"It's in the library, I'm pretty sure it's the right one, it mentions you."

Without a word, Belgarath swept from the throne room and into the library, Garion hot on his heels.

After much studying, the two of them could only make out one thing. It seemed that on Erastide, about a week from that day, Belgarath, Polgara, Durnik, Kheldar, Zakath, and Sadi would be standing in the throne room where Eriond would meet them.

Belgarion sent out letters to Zakath, Sadi, and Kheldar requesting that they come immediately to ensure that that happened, before going to find his wife. He decided that it would be better to tell her sooner than later, even though he was definitely not looking forward to her reaction.

He found Ce'Nedra sitting in a large armchair by the fire in their room, sewing.

"I have some news, dear." Garion announced tentatively, sitting in the chair beside her.

"You're going away. Again." She said this coldly, without the emotion he was sure that she was feeling.

"I have no choice, love."

"I know," she sighed, "but I'll miss you."

"This was not the reaction he had expected. The exact phrase that he had anticipated was 'don't you love me anymore?'

Evidently Ce'Nedra for once understood the gravity of the situation. Garion assumed that she had been listening in with her pendant.

"When are the others coming?" she asked.

"I'm not sure but I think Aunt Pol and Durnik should be here tomorrow. Silk will probably make it sooner than the other two, so Sadi will likely be next. Zakath will probably be last, having to come all the way from Mallorea."

Ce'Nedra nodded, smiling gently.

"Do you have any idea how long you will be gone?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not."

She looked up at him and went to sit in his lap.

"Well then, we'll just have to make use of the time we have left, won't we?" she said. A mischievous light glinting within her small eyes.